(Reuters) - Hundreds of Palestinians on hunger strike in Israeli
jails said on Friday they would shun vitamin supplements and prison
clinics in an escalation of their mass protest against detention
conditions.

"We swear we will not retreat. We are potential martyrs. Either we
live in dignity or die," prisoner organizers said in a letter
announcing the move and which was read out by Ismail Haniyeh, head of
the Islamist Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, during a
demonstration.

An estimated 1,600 inmates out of 4,800 launched the hunger strike on
April 17 to demand improved conditions in Israeli custody, such as an
end to solitary confinement and more family visits. They have also
challenged Israel´s policy of indefinite detention without charge of
suspected Palestinian militants.

The fate of the hunger strikers has touched a raw nerve among
Palestinians, with daily support rallies in the occupied West Bank
and Gaza, and political leaders warning that Israel could face new
violence should any prisoner die.

Dozens of Palestinians, including militants and politicians who had
served terms in Israeli jails in the past, have gone on hunger
strikes in tents put up in solidarity in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip, which witnessed daily heavy attendance by residents and
visitors from Arab and foreign countries.

The prisoners include Islamists from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which
reject peace with the Jewish state, as well as members of Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas´s secular and Western-backed Fatah movement.

A Prisons Service spokeswoman said there was no immediate sign of the
hunger strike being stepped up.

"As of now, I know that those who should be receiving extra care are
receiving it," the spokeswoman, Sivan Weizman, said.

Defending its so-called "administrative detention" policy, Israel
says some cases cannot immediately be brought to open court for fear
of exposing Palestinian intelligence sources that have cooperated
with Israeli security organs against militants.

Two inmates who helped launch the hunger strike, Bilal Diab and Thaer
Halahla of Islamic Jihad, were in the 74th day of their fast on
Friday.

Anat Litvin of Physicians for Human Rights in Israel quoted
Halahleh´s doctor as saying his death could be imminent.

"What is very worrisome is the fact that he said that he doesn´t want
to be saved if something happens to him and he loses consciousness,"
Litvin said, adding that the Prisons Service´s medical facilities
might prove inadequate.